PESHAWAR (APP): The influx of local and foreign tourists increased in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during Eid days wherein so far over 200,000 tourists visited various destinations, where tourists were attracted by the natural beauty, cultural diversity and historical heritage of various sites.
This was stated by Manager Media of the Khyber Paktunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority Saad bin Owais while talking to APP here on Thursday. He said such influs of local and foreign tourists would further be increased and would reach over 400,000 tourists during three days of Eid holidays.
The district administration had made tremendous efforts to provide facilities to the tourists at the hill stations in Lower Dir, Swat, Kalam, Saiful Malook, Kumrat, Abbottabad, Kaghan Naran and Malam Jabba, said Saad bin Owais.
All hotels and restaurants besides private inns were still witnessing jam-packed with tourists, said a local tourists facilitator Shahbad Ali at Sangoor, Chitral when contacted. He also appreciated Deputy Commissioner Chitral Imran Khan for his efforts in upgrading the road condition, specially during snow days and now it has been improved that is why the tourists are coming to scenic Chitral valleys.
The influx of tourists has made a very positive effect on the rural economy and it is very encouraging to see our efforts yield results, said Said bin Owais.
He also urged tourists to follow the guidelines of tourism through social media channels to ensure safe travel before leaving for tourist attractions and to ensure responsible tourism. He said tourism Police have already been deployed to facilitate the tourists besides local Police and Traffic Police are also working.
Long queues of cars, vans, and buses were being witnessed making their way to the region’s favourite tourist spot, adding a festive vibe to the town’s atmosphere, said a visitor Shahbaz Ali Baig.
The local people have also vacated extra rooms in their houses for tourists to earn profits these days, said another visitor Shaan, a tourists facilitator. While enjoying national and cultural songs youngsters along with their family members were seen busy hammering and fixing tents’ in KP forests to enjoy a pleasant change in the weather during these holidays, said a Deputy Commissioner Chitral Imran Khan. “We have also issued guidelines for the tourists to protect the forests during the picnic activities, ” Imran Khan said.
The officials of the district administration are always there to help the families during the time of tour to hilly areas, DC Chitral Imran Khan said. DC Chitral Imran Khan said the ongoing school, college vacations and Eid festivity were another factor which saw a rush of domestic tourists head to these scenic valleys of KP. He said the tourism police alongside local Police are there to serve the tourists.
Upper Dir is the most beautiful district in Pakistan’s North Western region in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said a foreign tourist, adding, it is comfortably nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district mainly consists of most of the Pashtoon population that speaks the Pashto language. The people of Dir are amiable and hospitable, he mentioned.
When contacted Deputy Commissioner Upper Dir Irfan Ali Khan, he said, there are always welcome the local and foreign tourists and that is why good foreign tourists are coming to the beautiful Kumrat valley. The officials of the district administration, he said, are always there to help them out. Assistant Commissioner Usman was also looking after all such visits, he added. He said there is still snow on the hills tops which make the weather more pleasant and the roads to each of the valleys of Dir Upper is open and officials of the District Administration with much needed machinery are there on high alert to deal with any situation, like they did in the last heavy snowfall.
Both Deputy Commissioner Chitral Imran Khan and Deputy Commissioner Upper Dir Irfan Ali Khan said that the district administrations have taken all appropriate measures to deal with the local and foreign tourists in light of the instructions given by the provincial government.
They said that traffic police have been deployed around different routes leading to tourist resorts to ensure smooth flow of traffic during Eid holidays. They said that they direct the Traffic Police to ensure their maximum support to the visitors from other districts and stop imposing fines on people at all tourist spots during Eid days so that visitors from other cities return with a good impression.
Deputy Commissioner Chitral Imran Khan and Deputy Commissioner Upper Dir Irfan Ali Khan said that the district administration is leaving no stone unturned to provide relief to people with the arrival of Eid Ul Fitr. Imran Khan said the people of Chitral are soft loving and they always extended good moral support to the tourists either local or foreign. “We are here for the people to serve and without the support of local people we could not address certain issues related to facilitating both local and foreign tourists.
